New Visual Language Research Document by Chrishinch

RESEARCH DOCUMENT

MODERNISM

odernism as a term envelops a whole variety of art movements that emerged in the late 19th and in the first half of the 20th century. Shortly after world war one, and at a time where the world dreamed of a world free of conflict of any sort and was a massive influence for the development of art design and architecture to the archetypal designs that we see today. Most of the Art and Design movements form the early 20th century had modernism as their core influence, Dada, De Stijl, Cubism, Bauhaus and constructivism passed on their influence to the field of design, photography and typography. All the movements above created a much stronger connection between art and craft, it removed the flamboyancy and plugged the gap with asymmetrical grid layouts and also paving the way for geometric forms. Even though all of these movements have very different styles, they all shared the same basic principles. Rejecting the obsolete past and â&#x20AC;&#x153;making it newâ&#x20AC;?.

FAUVISM

auvism is the style of les Fauves (French for “the wild beasts”) it consists of a loose group of early 20th century modern artists who used strong colour while keeping their work realistic using impressionism. While the style of fauvism started in 1900 and lasted beyond 1910, the movement itself only last 4 years between 19041908.

enri Matisse was one of the artists that helped to define the developments in the plastic arts. He was also joined by Andre Derain, and Geroges Braque who later became Picassos partner in cubism.

CUBISM

ubism began between 1907 and 1911 and was considered to be an “avant-garde” art movement, pioneered by Georges Braque and Pablo Picasso. Cubism is also considered the most influential art movement of the 20th century. There were many variants of Cubism such as Futurism and Constructivism developed in different countries. Although the majority of cubist practitioners were painters and sculptures, Le Corbusier is best known for his cubist architecture, with his best known piece of work being Capela de Ronchamp featuring small, randomly placed windows.

CONSTRUCTIVISM

onstructivism was an artistic and architectural philosophy that originated in Russia beginning in 1919. Constructivism had a great effect on modern art movements of the 20th century, influencing major trends such as the Bauhaus and De Stijl movements. Its influences were spread throughout having a major impact on architecture, graphic and industrial design, film, theatre, dance and fashion. Kazimir Malevich as a ridicule of Alexander Rodchenko first used construction art as a term in 1917. The first positive use of the term constructivism was in 1920 in the Realistic Manefesto by Naum

Gabo. Constructivism was a post world war 1 adaptation of the Russian futurism movement. The term would be invented by the sculptors Antoine Pevsner and Naum Gabo. These practitioners develop the movement with a very industrial and angular style, while the geometric abstraction took its inspiration from Malevich himself.

FUTURISM

uturism was an artistic and social movement from Italy founded in 1909. Futurism emphasised and glorified themes associated with contemporary concepts of the future including speed, technology, youth and violence, and objects such as the car, the aeroplane and industrial city. Mainly in Italy, but there were parallel movements in Russia and England. Futurists practised in all manors of mediums of art including painting, sculpture, graphic, industrial, interior and urban design. As well as gastronomy.

DADA

adaism was an early 20th century, 1915 in New York, art movement in the European avantgarde. Dada was born out of negative reaction to the horrors of World War I; this internationally renowned movement was formed by a group of artists and poets that were linked to the Cabaret Voltaire in Zurich. Dada rejects any form of reason or logic, and used nonsense, irrationality and intuition as replacements. Some say the name is nonsensical, where as others believe it to have come from the Romanian artists Tristan Tzara’s and Marcel Janco’s spoken word, “da, da” meaning, “yes, yes”. For many participants, the movement was a protest against the bourgeois nationalist and colonialist interests, as they believed that they were the route cause of the war.

BAUHAUS

auh a u s o p e r a t e d f r om 191 9 t o 1 9 3 3 a n d w a s a Ge r m a n a r t s c h o ol kno w n f o r c o m b i n i n g al l the ar ts, f r o m f i n e a r t t o ar chi tectur e a n d t e a c h i n g the m al l i n t h e s a m e p l a c e ; at the ti m e B a u h a u s w a s un der stood t o m e a n “ s c h o ol of bui l di ng” c o m i n g f r o m t he G er m an l i ter a l l y m e a n i n g “h ouse of c o n s t r u c t i o n ” . T h e school i tsel f b e c a m e o n e of the l ar ges t i n f l u e n c e s i n m od er n des i g n i n r e l a t i o n t o ar chi tectur e , a r t a n d d e s i g n teachi ngs. F o u n d e d i n 1 9 1 9

b y a rc h it e c t wa lt e r g ro p io us, a lo n g wit h o t h e r me mb e rs , the Ba u h a u s ma d e a ma n if e s t o s t a t in g “T h e c o mp le t e b u ilding is t h e u lt ima t e a im o f a ll v is u a l a rt s ”. T h is c o mmit ment t o a rc h it e c t u re le a d t o t h e ris e o f o t h e r mo v e me n t s s u c h a s De St ijl a n d Ru s s ian Co n s t ru c t iv is m. Alt h o u g h Gra p h ic d e s ig n wa s n o t t a u g h t wit h in t h e s c h o o l b ut wa lt e r g ro p io u s h a d e le me nts s u c h a s t y p o g ra p h y a n d p h o t o g ra p h y we re t a u g h t . The s c h o o l mo v e d a ro u n d wit h in g e rma n y in t h e 2 4 y e a rs o f its

existance, Weimer from 19191925, D essau from 1925-1932 and finally settled in B erlin for its last year. as well as moving the school around, they also had 3 different architects wihtin its 24 year lifetime, Walter Gropious, H annes Meyer and Ludwig R ohe, the school was closed down as a result of pressures and accusations from the N azi Government, The nazi government stated that the B auhaus was the centre for communist interlectuallism.

ARMIN HOFMANN

r m i n H o f m a n n - S w i s s g r a p h i c d e s i g n e r, h i s c a r e e r s t a r t e d i n 1 9 4 7 w h e n h e became a teacher at Allgemeine Gewerbeschule Basel School of Art and Crafts at the age of just 26. Hofmann was the successor of Emil Ruder as the head of the graphic design department at the (Basel School of Design) and was at the forefront of the development of the design movement knows as swiss style. He was and still is most famous for his posters which used colour and fonts as their focal p o i n t i n r e a c t i o n t o w h a t H o f m a n n r e g a r d e d a s t h e “ t r i v i a l i z a t i o n o f c o l o u r. ” H o f m a n n h a s a l s o h a d m u l t i p l e p o s t e r s e x h i b i t e d a t t h e M o M a g a l l e r y i n N e w Yo r k .

ess is more, was a term used by all modernist designers, favouring white space as well as using clean cut design. They believed that something had achieved perfection when “there is nothing left to remove, not nothing left to add” This is why many modernist designers applauded the Helvetica typeface, as its use of white space and clean, straight edges gives it a simplistic look, perfect for use in their publications.

DE STIJL

e stijl, also known as Neo-Placticism, was an artist movement between 1917-1931 founded in the Netherlands by Theo van Doesburg, he was known for his painting, poetry writing and architecture. “The Style” which is a direct translation from dutch, was also the name of a magazine written by Doesburg. De stijl was the art movement that pulled all areas of design together into one convergence. With the names at the forefront; artist Piet Mondrian, architect and furniture d e s i g n e r, G e r r i t R i e t v e l d , Bart van der Leck, Piet Z w a r t a n d V i l m o s H u s z a r. In Principle, De stijl advocated simplicity and abstraction by only using vertical and horizontal straight lines and very few colours, sticking to block primary colours red, yellow and blue, while only using the primary values B l a c k , W h i t e a n d G r e y. T h e y a l s o a v o i d e d s y m m e t r y. In their 3D work, they created layers or planes to avoid obstruction and intersection between pieces and allowing the pieces to w o r k i n d e p e n d e n t l y. D e s t i j l was influence by Cubism as well as neopositivism. The works of De Stijl would influence the Bauhaus style and the international style of architecture as well as clothing and interior design. Did not fall into the standard “-ism” c a t e g o r y, a s i t w a s m o r e o f a collective project and did not adhere to the standard principles of Bauhaus.

THEO VAN DOESBURG

heo v a n D o e s b u r g wa s b o rn Ch ris t ia n Emil M a rie Küpper. D utch artist he practiced pai n t i n g , w r i t i n g , p oe t ry a n d a rc h it e c t u re . Kn o ws p redominantly for founding the artist m ov e m e n t D e S t i j l . H is n a me c h a n g e c a me a b o u t a s he considered his step father, Theo d o r u s D o e s b u r g , a s h is re a l f a t h e r a n d h is f irs t paintings were signed as Theo do esbur g. A t a l a t e r d a t e h e in s e rt e d t h e “v a n ”. T h e in v e n tion of the de Stijl magazine came abo ut as a p o i n t o f c h a n c e , Do e s b u rg h a p p e n e d u p o n a p ie ce by P iet Mondrian during the first w orl d w ar an d l a t e r c o n t a c t e d h im a mo n g s t o t h e rs a n d t h e magazine was formed in 1917.

he s t y l e o f d e S t i j l wit h t h e b lo c k p rima ry c o lo u rs a nd thick black lines came from a pi e c e o f w o r k h e wa s c o mmis s io n e d t o c re a t e , a s tained glass window, after a few atte m p t s a n d d r a w i n g s , t h e win d o w c a me t o h a v e t hick emphatic vertical and horizontal l i nes w h i c h e n c a p s u la t e d c o lo u re d p a n e s , o f re d b lue and yellow.

HELVETICA

elvetica was Developed in 1956 by Max Miedinger and was commissioned b y t h e H a a s Ty p e f o u n d r y. Miedinger and Eduard Hoffmann exchanged sketches and proofs as well as comparing his designs to existing grotesk typefaces. Neue Hass Grotesk had a distinct look, which was

created by using horizontal stroke endings and its very narrow line spacing. It was only suggested that the name be changed as the popularity meant it was an international typeface, meaning that a shorter name was required, Helvtica was originally chosen as it translates as “Switzerland” in Latin. The 2007 movie “Helvetica”

which is a documentary film directed by Gary Hustwit. The documentary had interviews with great names s u c h a s ; N e v i l l e B r o d y, D a v i d Carson and Erik Spiekermann t o n a m e a f e w, a n d t h e y w e r e talking about the changes i n t y p o g r a p h y, d e s i g n a n d society that have come about from Helvetica.

THE GRID SYSTEM

he grid system is a framework originally designed to aid graphic designers in the design and organization of a layout for a publication. Allowing the designers to place images and copy in harmony with each other. This style is linked to Swiss typographical style and was developed by Josef Müller-Brockmann, Emil ruder and Max bill.

“permits The grid system is an aid, not a guarantee. It a number of possible uses and each designer can look for a solution appropriate to his personal style. But one must learn how to use the grid; it is an art that requires practice.

”

JOSEF MÜLLER-BROCKMANN

POST MODERNISM

ost modernism is a late 20th century movement in the arts, architecture and criticism that left modernism behind. Post modernism is often linked to Deconstruction and PostStructuralism because it gained significance at the same time as twentiethcentury post-structural thought. The term post modernism is thrown around a lot, and is most used in relation to movements in art, music and literature, as a reaction to the modernistic tendencies, reviving the historical elements and techniques thrown out by modernists. The term post modern was first used to describe a way of moving past French Impressionism b y J o h n Wa t k i n s , i n t h e 1 8 7 0 â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

op art was founded in the mid 1950’s in Britain and late 1950’s in America, pop art is a step away from traditional fine art because it used images from popular culture. The material is often removed from its usual surroundings and put with something that it wouldn’t normally be associated with. Or left by its self. Pop art doesn’t refer to the art, but to the attitudes it was born form. A perfect example of this is Richard Hamilton’s collage of the living room on a normal house entitles “just what is it that makes todays homes so different, so appealing?” Or so we thought, until you look closer and you realise that everything is out of context.

POP ART

ndy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein are the most iconic artist from the American pop art scene, both artists using basic techniques form Roy’s dots t o A n d y ’s b r i g h t c o l o u r s l a y e r e d on top of an object from popular culture.

PUNK MOVEMENT

unk movementwas part of the postmodernist movement in the late 1970’s as a retaliation to the rules and constraints of modernism. The art work also represented the anarchical behavior and attitude of the time. Most promonant was the sex pistols, with their album cover

Los Angeles artist Mark Vallen has said: Punk had a unique and complex aesthetic. It was steeped in shock value and revered what was considered ugly. The whole look of punk was designed to disturb and disrupt the happy complacency of the wider society. Outside of punk’s torn and safety pinned anti-fashion statements, this impulse to outrage was never more apparent than on punk album covers.

for “never mind the bollocks”. It also came at a time of change in the design, fashion a n d m u s i c i n d u s t r y. The use of similar styles as ransom notes taking cuttings from newspapers and magazines to make up sentences, as well as cutting out images into a collage effect to portray the rebellious side of the era.

INTERNATIONAL TYPOGRAPHIC STYLE

nternational typographic style also known as Swiss Style, bases its approach to design on legibility and simplicity o f l a y o u t . V i b r a n t c o l o u r, bold typeface and largely use heavy sans serif “ f o n t s ” a n d g e o m e t r y. Became popular in the 1920s through successful swiss design, but became

an international style in the 1950s when it was reproduced all over the world. Communicated through userfriendly media platforms such as posters, stamps and street signs, due to the specificity of their platform choices they had to be cautious to pick the appropriate content to give the correct message to t h e v i e w e r. Ve r y w e l l defined structure. Their minimalistic methods are to remove what is not needed from their work. Using the same principle as all modernist designers of “less is more” giving a clean cut design making full use of the white space available and incorporating it into the design.

EXISTING COVER DESIGNS

s you can see from the plethora of magazine covers from well known magazines including GQ, NME, Rolling stones and Vo g u e , a s w e l l a s t h e design magazine EYE. I like the cover of the Eye magazines because they make use of the free space, they could have added writing to their cover but i n s t e a d t h e y o m i t t e d i t . Yo u can also see that they have a few things in common, the use of bold masthead designs to catch the eye and the use of crisp images as the focal point of the c o v e r. I a l s o l i k e t h e w a y that the covers.

MASTHEAD

DESIGNS

EW ISUAL ANGUAGE

s you can see to the left are my initial masthead sketches, the majority of my initial ideas have a distinct design, only using the initials of New Visual Language. Also before I started creating my little sketches, I knew that I wanted my designs to be very simplistic, possibly using a small stroke to my letters, in the end I created a new typeface (only the letters that I required) in order to get the look I wanted, this typeface takes more of a part in the designs later on in my development.

MASTHEAD

DESIGNS

hese are the final ideas I have had for my masthead design, I have decided to stick with a simple principle using the standard Red, Green and Blue, and also the use of a black and white masthead which can be reversed to be white with black writing like the design across the Spread. I have chosen this colour scheme because I believe the contrast between the colours is good, the only one that causes me concern is t h e w h i t e w r i t i n g o n t h e g r e e n b a c k g r o u n d a s i t d o e s n â&#x20AC;&#x2122; t s h o w u p a s c l e a r l y. I h a v e a l s o created the option to change the colours so I can swap colours around.

MASTHEAD

FORM FOLLOWS FUNCTION

w as tor n w h e t h e r o r n o t t o d e s ig n a s e p a ra t e p ie c e f o r t he Form Follows Function subhead i n g o f m y m a g a zin e , b u t t h e n I t h o u g h t t h a t it would be better than just choosing any type f a c e f r o m t h e l i s t a n d ju s t t y p in g it o u t s o I d e s igned a typeface, which only contai ne d t h e c h a r a c t e r s t h a t I n e e d e d , u s in g t h e s a me principle as I did for my masthead de si gn. I t i s j u s t a s i m p l e a n g u la r t y p e f a c e u s in g t h e p e n t ool and a point size between 1 and 15 dependi n g o n t h e a p p l i c a t io n . I c h o s e t h e a b o v e d e s ig n as it give a clear layout making it easi l y r eada b l e , a l s o I u s e d t h e a llit e ra t io n t o my a d v a n t a g e only using 1 â&#x20AC;&#x153;Fâ&#x20AC;? in the place of 3 as a sor t of d r o p c a p i t a l .

hese designs are just to show other styles of designing the same piece, I have turned the fill on for the design to the left and the one below is just simply having each concecutive letter da different colour, using the sequence R ed, Green, P ink, Yellow, B lue.

COVER DESIGN IDEAS

hese initial sketches are designs based on movements that I found interesting and that I thought had a good design characteristics that I could put to good use. Each of the sketches is labeled with the movement, which inspired it. The 2 that I a m m o s t h a p p y w i t h a r e o n t h e t o p r o w, 1 s t a n d 2 n d f r o m the left. Over the next few pages I will show you examples of what I have achieved using these sketches and the movements themselves as inspiration.

COVER DESIGN 1

AN EXPLORATION OF MODERNISM AND POST MODERNISM

COVER DESIGN 2 AN EXPLORATION OF MODERNISM AND POST MODERNISM

AN EXPLORATION OF MODERNISM AND POST MODERNISM